


Cold Glow

by savannahs1



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Corrupted Gems, Reader-Interactive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-19 04:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14866925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savannahs1/pseuds/savannahs1
Summary: Steven finds his way through a strange, new world that's been without him for quite some time. He can hear you.





	1. Waking Up

It's dark, and so, so cold. The only audible sound is a chaotic, strangely panic-inducing sort of song that barely even sounds like music. The singer is a relatively small, reddish-black creature reminiscent of a cross between a lizard and an insect, with a megaphone for a face. An elliptical gemstone can be seen on one of the Hematite’s flanks. It’s in front of the Crystal Temple, or at least what’s left of it. Besides the moss, which almost completely covers the structure, several other plants can be seen ever-so-slowly battling for dominance on the illuminated section of the Temple and probably the rest of it, too, particularly a tangle of vines covered in pink flowers, and, towards the edges of the light, where things aren’t as easy to see, buds.

As previously mentioned, it's unnaturally cold here, not to mention dark, the only light coming from a large, glowing crystal. The pink light reveals the entrance to the Crystal Temple, although the door itself is not visible. Despite all odds, namely the fact that it's so cold that they're partially frozen, small plants with thin stems, no leaves to speak of, and rosebuds at their tips grow just about everywhere, a significant amount of light shining through the petals. There's a cluster of vines on the ground, holding something shiny and blue. But what’s really important here is the crystal itself, or rather, what’s inside it.

Steven is frozen in the middle of the crystal, looking much the same as he did before whatever made the place look like this, aside from the fact that the tips of his hair are now pink. His eyes are closed, and there's a small, serene smile on his face. If one didn’t know any better, it would be easy to assume that he was simply sleeping, as opposed to being frozen in time for however long it took for an entire house to completely vanish and for grass and flowers that shouldn't be able to hold themselves up to cover the land below it. The Hematite’s “singing” continues until the crystal suddenly cracks, upon which the corrupted Gem lets out a horrific screech and darts into the shadows.

The crack grows, pieces starting to fall off the massive crystal. The whole process takes about a minute, and eventually, the shining beacon of light loses all sense of structural integrity and crumbles. Steven, now freed, slides down the glowing pile of rocks and lets out a groan. Whether it’s been there all this time or it somehow fell in during the collapse of the crystal, there’s a small piece in his mouth. It must taste pretty good, because in all his half-asleep wisdom, he bites down on it. It seems to have the approximate hardness of a piece of hard candy, because while there’s an audible crunch, there’s no indication that he hurt his mouth.

Eating the crystal seems to have an invigorating effect on Steven. He suddenly gasps, bolts upright, and scrambles down from the pile of crystal chunks. His skin is glowing, and between the dwindling light of said pile and the sudden surge of his own, it's very noticeable. He sits there for a bit, pink eyes with no pupils to speak of anxiously darting around, before a dirty mess of plastic and wires catches his eye. He shakily walks over and picks it up, running his finger across the edge. His breath is clearly visible, and what appears to be a thin layer of ice has formed in his hair, but he doesn't seem to notice.

“This is my alarm clock...” he mumbles to himself. Indeed, even though the object looks like it’s been stomped on and then taken apart and put back together the wrong way before being impaled, the resemblance is apparent if one knows what to look for. Just as he starts to look less terrified and more nervous, his glow fades, and he panics, letting out a yelp as it returns to its original brightness. He calms down, and the cycle repeats itself, albeit in a less intense fashion. the light fluctuates and wavers as he tenses up. It never goes out completely, and Steven, content that he won't be left in darkness, gives a sigh of resignation.

Just as Steven is about to leave the area without further investigation, he stops and looks around. He's not alone. After all, you're here.

"Hello?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an interactive fanfic! Think of it like a text-based askblog. You can talk to Steven in the comments.


	2. Waking the Beast

_Hello, Steven Universe. Seems like I'm the first to respond. There might be others, I don't know. Do you remember what happened to you? I'm afraid I don't know much of anything yet._

_Hello Steven! Do you know what's happening right now? No one knows exactly what's going on yet. Do you know how you got here?_

* * *

 

Steven seems startled and confused when he hears you. Initially, he just stands there and stares into the distance with a dumbfounded look on his face, struggling to comprehend this format of communication, but he quickly figures it out.

"Uh... no? You're asking what's going on, aren't you?" Steven looks around, as if trying to find the source of the strange sort of almost-voice he heard. He sighs, rubbing one of his eyes. "I just woke up, and I don't know where I am, and..." He looks down at his arm, realizing that the only light in the area is the weak light coming from the inside of the flowers and the much stronger glow of his own skin. No sun, no moon, not even stars. As if on cue, it flares a little. "I'm glowing..." he starts, seeming concerned at first.

"Can I..." Steven concentrates for a moment, and his light flickers and goes out. He jerks, the light reacting to his sudden fear and returning, just as bright as it was before. Experimentally, he blinks it on and off a few times, now much more at ease. It responds to his emotions once again, mellowing out into a softer glow that's just bright enough for him to not have to strain his eyes to see. "Cool!" he says, grinning.

Steven leaves his light the way it is and turns his attention back to you. "So... where are you? I can't see you anywhere." He listens for a good ten seconds, waiting for a response. But he doesn't hear anything. He doesn't even feel your presence. It's not your time to act yet. "...I guess you don't talk much, do you?" He waits for a few more seconds. "That's okay!"

As Steven brightens a little and examines his surroundings, searching for a being he'll never find, he notices the blue shimmer on the ground, although it's more of a purplish color in the pink light. Having an idea regarding what it could be, he runs over and untangles the vines that hold it in place. It's a round gemstone, with a triangular facet. Steven gasps. "Sapphire!" He moves to pick the gemstone up, but before he can do so, it starts to glow and rises into the air, a mannequin-like figure appearing around it. However, just as she starts to look like herself, the half-formed gem distorts, dropping to the ground and struggling to keep her balance. She nearly collapses, thrusting feathered arms out to keep from falling on her face as her shining silhouette grows monstrous in appearance.

When the light fades, there's a feathery, blue Gem monster in front of Steven, about the size of a large dog. The Gem who used to be a part of Garnet is now corrupted, wing feathers prominent on both her arms and animal-shaped legs, like a feathered dinosaur. Her snout seems to take up her entire face, and her hair, once wavy and on top of her head, where hair belong, is now more like a sleek, straight mane that covers her entire long neck in addition to the back of her head. She takes one look at Steven and the bright light that pulsates with his pounding heart and screeches, her mane puffing out as she launches herself at the boy. He screams, giving off a blinding flash of light. Sapphire, now disoriented, completely misses her target, roughly crashing to the ground behind him.

Steven turns around, but doesn't see anything except the small points of light in the flowers, too weak to be of any use, because his light has gone out, and aside from a flicker that ripples through his body, he can't get it to turn back on. "S-... Sapphire?" The corrupted Gem growls and approaches him, sniffing his hair and then flinching back with a snarl when he tries to turn his light back on once again, this time with even less success. "Okay, you don't like light..." he mumbles to himself, panicking at least a little. Sapphire is still for a few seconds, then dares to approach again, this time licking the side of his face and then making a soft hissing sound, with a small spit at the end. It isn't hostile. Actually, it's hard to tell exactly what it is, and it isn't even really a hiss, it's... something else, something that happens to sound a lot like one.

"Are you... trying to say my name?" Steven dares to ask. Sapphire makes the sound again and curls almost protectively around Steven's legs, tail thumping against the ground like a dog's. Apparently dissatisfied, she grabs the back of his shirt in her mouth, tugging him down into a sitting position and curling up around him once again. Aside from a quiet whimper, he goes along with it, too scared to risk angering her again.

"You remember me, don't you? You haven't tried to kill me yet... I mean, you _have,_ but you were just... scared." Sapphire makes that sound that sounds like Steven's name again and rests her head on his leg. "Is it always this dark here?" Steven asks. She just growls and reaches up to briefly cover his mouth with a talon, which is more than enough to get him to shut up. He gets that strange feeling of not being alone again. Of course, Sapphire is here, but it feels like they're not the only ones here. Your move.


End file.
